Making the World a Better Place – One Review at a Time

Summer Preview

It goes without saying that summer is big business for Hollywood. Almost every weekend a studio releases a big-budget tentpole picture that they are hoping will be a runaway hit. Regardless of the buzz, not everything will succeed. For every Avengers, if 2012 is a good indicator, there are several Battleships. So what will bomb this summer? Your guess is as good as mine. I think that The Lone Ranger has the potential to be a disaster, even with Johnny Depp involved. And do we need another presidential terrorist film with White House Down? I’m on the fence about many of the other big movies being released, but I will tell you what I am most excited to see over the coming few months.

10) Epic (May 24) Most of the animated films being released this summer are sequels or prequels but Kudos to Twentieth Century Fox for taking an expensive chance on relatively unknown entity about the fight for everything green on Earth. While the Ice Age pedigree does nothing for me, I am impressed with and look forward to what looks like an excellent animated pic.

9) World War Z (June 21) I loved the book but I’ll admit that the movie so far looks nothing like the images in my head during that read. That being said, Brad Pitt’s huge special effects extravaganza could be a frightening thrill ride worth going on.

8) The Hangover Part III (May 24) Loved the first. Hated the second. This time around they are forgoing the whole wake up with no memory of events transpired theme and instead they are simply going back to Vegas for another wild and crazy adventure. Everything I’ve seen about this makes me think it could be great. I’m pretty sure I said that about the second film too though so only time will tell.

7) Your’e Next (June 7) This little indie about a family that receives a brutally scary home invasion has received a lot of notoriety for scaring audiences at film festivals world-wide. Since I haven’t seen a good scary movie in several years – I’m hoping this one can deliver the goods.

6) The World’s End (August 23) Writer/Director Edgar Wright (Hot Fuzz/Shaun of the Dead) re-teams with his acting cronies Simon Pegg and Nick Frost for this tale about five friends trying to recreate an epic pub crawl from their youths, all during an alien invasion. Wright is quickly turning into one of my favorite filmmakers and I’m fairly certain this one will become another underground hit.

5) This is the End (June 12) And yet another end of the world movie? Keep em coming if they look this fun. Here James Franko, Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Danny McBride and countless other comedians/actors play themselves as they try to survive the end of the world. All it took was watching the red-band trailer and I was hooked. There are some great looking comedies coming out this year but this one looks like it might be the best.

4) Kick Ass 2 (August 16) Kick Ass was the perfect combination of comedy and action. While there is a new and largely untested writer/director at the helm, the cast is what is getting me most anxious. Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Chloe Grace Moretz are back as Kick Ass and Hit-Girl but joining the street heroes is Jim Carey as Colonel Stars and Stripes. This one could turn out to be a stinker, but I am holding out hope for something big and fun.

3) Elysium (August 9) If writer/director Neil Blomkamp can make District 9 on a shoe string, then I can’t wait to see what he can pull off with a tentpole budget. Set in the year 2154 in a world where the wealthy live on a space station while the rest of humanity fight it out on a dying planet, Matt Damon attempts to equalize the two worlds. This could be a huge sci-fi epic.

2) Pacific Rim (July 12) Yet another potential sci-fi epic is Guillermo Del Toro’s (Pan’s Labyrinth) film about a giant alien attack that forces humankind to build gigantic robots in order to fight them off and save the planet. What the film lacks in stars it more than makes up for in sheer grandiosity.

1) Man of Steel (June 14) Growing up in the late seventies and eighties, Superman was my favorite hero. After the second film, the franchise went downhill fast and could not recover with 2006’s mediocre return. This time is different though. A new beginning, new story and a fresh new perspective makes this look like the film to beat this summer. While largely unknown, I believe the talented Henry Cavill will impress his critics and 300 director Zack Snyder along with producer Christopher Nolan could bring us a Superman film for the ages.